Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles 1898-1981: The Only Book to Fully Chronicle Every Bike Ever Built
Posted by Levon in Books
Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles 1898-1981: The Only Book to Fully Chronicle Every Bike Ever Built The resurgence of interest in motorcycles, with more than 1 million new sales in 2004, is reminiscent of the revved up days of the 1970s. In this new reference novice riders, vintage collectors and hobbyists get coverage of every American-made model, pre-war to present day, to roll off the line and onto the pavement.
From vintage models like the Flying Merkel and Excelsior motorcycles to the tried and true Indian motorcycles and evolutionary Harley-Davidsons, this guide captures the technical details and history of American motorcycles like nothing else. Collectors, historians and motorcycle enthusiasts will find technical specifications including performance figures, horsepower, weight and more for help in identification. A collection of 1,200 crisp detailed photos also assists with identification, and offers inspiration for these enduring vehicles.
-Every model from pre-war to today is included to give collectors the most comprehensive coverage
-1,200 detailed photos help motorcycle enthusiasts with bike identification
-Includes technical data on hard-to-find models
Customer Review: Wonderful, but flawed
To be brief: This is a wonderful book for those who love the really old and rare motorcycles of the pre-WW2 era. I don’t know of anything else in print which even comes close to the scope and depth of this work. So buy a copy!
Unfortunately, the other, more critical reviewers are also correct: there are surprising gaps in this historical review - even where the author obviously intended to provide the missing material - and there are errors of fact. The publisher needs to hire some better editors, and the author really should produce a corrected, more genuinely comprehensive 2nd edition ASAP.
My greatest disappointment with this edition was the book’s cheap paperback production: The content, mostly old ads and photos of really rare bikes, fully deserves glossy paper and the highest quality reproductions to preserve this information. I personally would be happy to pay twice as much for such a volume.
But all criticisms aside, what we have here is still invaluable. If you are a fan of old mototcycles, you will want this book - even in such a flawed edition.
Customer Review: Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles 1898-1981
I just received this book as a Father’s Day Gift and I spent a couple of hours going through it. If you are into older American bikes this is a treasure of info that any restoration guy would love. Lots of pictures, ads and old photos, sadly none in color, but that’s my only snivel. This should be in every antique bike fans library as a excellant resource if only for the pictures alone.
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